Bronxville business owner Matthew Johnson transforms cement slabs into cut stone, but there”™s no magic wand involved ”“ concrete polish does the trick.
On a sunny spring afternoon in midtown Manhattan, Johnson is at work on the floors of a loftlike space where high-end events like Ralph Lauren fashion shows and weddings are held.
The look he seeks to achieve?
Very old SoHo.
Skyline, the client, heavy hitters in the New York events arena, originally hired Johnson to fix a job gone awry, bringing the “often imitated, never duplicated” mantra to mind.
“When we first went down to bid on a floor about a year ago, we were not the cheapest and they went with somebody else,” said Amy Johnson, who runs Savaspace/GreenEARTH Floors with husband Matthew Johnson. “Anyone can say they can do it, but not everyone can. The floor was not finished, it looked horrendous and they called and asked us what could be done.”
Johnson transformed the space and “they sort of worshipped him,” Amy said.
Concrete polish ”“ the phrase sounds simple enough, but this hot and relatively new construction commodity is a “seven step mechanical process,” Matthew said.
Diamonds are utilized to create the desired look and as the “diamond starts off big and gets smaller, the floor gets flatter,” he said. “Then, we add a stain and a densifier product, which reacts with the diamond and the calcium in the concrete.”
Crystals are grown inside the concrete and the surface is hardened as a result.
“They learned how to calibrate the polish machines and to densify the concrete to make it hard enough to polish,” Amy said. “Twelve years ago, you couldn”™t do anything with concrete other than paint it or cover it.”
The company just completed work at retailer Diesel”™s flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Diesel wanted an “old look,” according to Amy, opting for a more rustic feel than a high-polish finish. Her product depends on the look architects and designers wish to achieve, she said. Prices vary and run by the square foot.
At the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn., the floors were meant to look like terrazzo with a little stone showing. The school logo and high-shine finish completed the look.
Matthew Johnson began Savaspace in 2004, the custom coating end of the business. GreenEARTH Floors, the grind and polish aspect, was introduced later.
Johnson originally thought he”™d get into the garage refurbishing business and quickly realized the floors were in need of the most improvement.
When using epoxy in floor work, Amy said those with longevity have the harshest chemicals. Increasingly rigid laws and the negative environmental impact contributed to Johnson”™s search for a better solution. This is when they learned of concrete polish.
“What makes this a great flooring system is you eliminate petroleum products, which produce greywater and wastewater,” Matthew said. “There is a minimum amount of maintenance, which results in cost-effectiveness.”
“It seems that the more architects, builders and contractors begin to understand it, the more calls we”™re getting,” Amy said. “It”™s taken on a life of its own.”